Its been 50 years since Chubby Checker's Twist hit No. 1 twice on the charts (above video, Dick Clark's American Bandstand).
At lunchtime, I'd twist with my friends in the elementary school gym in Cathlamet, Washington, hometown of my youth. I was a tall, skinny kid with an attitude but I pretty much did what I was supposed to do. My mother was a teacher at the Big High School across the parking lot. But, I could twist! And, I loved my 45's that I'd tote around in a slick, blue patent leather carrying case like a purse. The smell of Sloppy Joes hung in the air while we twisted up a storm. With the cool, nonchalance of any 10 year old I'd flip my hair while casually glancing across the shiny linoleum at my First Big Crush. Could he be watching me? After graduating from highschool I moved far away and then many years later discovered that my First Big Crush is gay. And, I'm glad he's openly living the life he wants to live each and every day.
